The dog days of August are stretching out before us, and for most of the country it’s been way too hot for way too long. So we’ve pulled together a great list of cool getaway activities across the USA that your whole family will love!

Catch The Wind at a Family Sailing Resort – Spend days wrapped in a cooling breeze in Boothbay Harbor, Maine at the Linekin Bay Resort, New England’s only all-inclusive sailing resort. Sailing lessons are offered for guests of all ages with a fleet of sailboats at the ready.

Ride White Water Rapids – Northern Outdoors, a family adventure resort in northern Maine, will send you on an exhilarating swoosh through legendary white water rapids on the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers. AND for the rest of the summer kids 8-17 raft at 1/2 price!

Sleep On a House Boat right in the heart of the city with SleepAFloat.com. Ever wonder what it would be like to live in a houseboat? Here’s your chance to try it out in Boston, Annapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, to name a few locals. Most houseboats can accommodate 6 and many welcome pets.

Photo: Ithaca CVB

Swim Beneath One of 100 Waterfalls – Who knew that Ithaca New York boasts gorges that hide about 100 waterfalls in Robert Treman and Buttermilk Falls State Parks. Take the whole family at $7 per car load into the parks and enjoy swimming and splashing through dramatic cascading waterfalls. And here I was thinking you had to go to Hawaii to swim through waterfalls!

Take a Sundae Drive – Mystic County in eastern Connecticut has developed an Ice Cream Trail that is sure to keep you cool on a hot day. A free downloadable map shows you the way either along the shoreline, inland or in quiet corners to discover all the frozen creamy goodness you can take in! Yum

Catch a Breeze On The Longest Continuous Zipline in the World – Historic Banning Mills outside of Atlanta Georgia is home to the longest continuous eco zip line canopy tour in the world with 37 zip lines and 42 tree walk bridges. You’ll definitely have the coolest stories to tell after you’ve soared through the trees at speeds up to 60 mph! There’s also lots of activities on the 1,200 acre preserve for those less daring.

Climb Through The Largest Caves System in the World – Take the family exploring through Mammoth Cave National Park in central Kentucky. The caves have over 350 miles of passageways, shafts, and rivers, and the temperatures stay at a constant 54 degrees year round. With 5 separate levels of subterranean terrain to explore, no other cave system even comes close to the size.

Chill Out at Family Surf Camp – On North Carolina’s Wrightsville Beach and Kure Beach, teach the whole family the love of surfing at day camp! Families can attend surf camp from one day to all week and all equipment is provided.

Be a Happy Camper At The Ritz – Now this is my idea of family camping – no rain, no lumpy sleeping bag, no bugs – it’s the Chicago Ritz for me! The Ritz-Carlton Chicago will pitch an in-room tent for the kids and bring a backpack filled with camping amenities. Next it’s a visit from the Candy Man and a round of s’mores for everyone. After a fun-packed and peaceful night’s sleep, you’ll have plenty of energy to head over to Shedd Aquarium to come face to face with a beluga whale, explore Amazon Rising, view the Wild Reef, or Polar Play Zone.

Kayak Through Sea Caves and Channel Islands – Channel Islands National Park is located just one hour off the coast of Los Angeles, but is so pristine and protected that it is often referred to as the Galapagos of the America’s. Island Packers operate daily tours out of Ventura Harbor that visit Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Barbara islands. From June through September you are likely to see the endangered blue whales, the largest animals on earth, as they troll the nutrient rich island waters. Santa Cruz island is home to the biggest sea caves in the world, making them an ideal spot for kayaking. There are activities for all including walks with naturalists, hking, cave kayaking, camping and diving.

Raft The Grand Canyon – Too many of us peer at the Grand Canyon from above and never experience the glorious canyon vistas from within on a whitewater rafting trip. Grand Canyon Whitewater is one company offering family trips from 4 to 13 days that will have you jumping into waterfalls, navigating rapids and sleeping under the stars in raised camp beds. Experienced river guides keep everything safe and organized so your whole family can just relax and have fun together. You’ll learn about the canyon’s geology and history while bonding through the thrill of running the rapids.

Make Snow Angels! – Believe it or not, while most of the country is sweltering, Squaw Valley at Lake Tahoe in northern California still has SNOW at the top of its cable car run. Take a 8,200 ft vertical ride and you’ll be able to build a snowman from the snow that still remains from this year’s record snowfall. In fact, ski resorts across America are some of the most exciting and exhilarating places to spend a summer vacation. Most mountains turn into sports playgrounds with mountain bike trails, rollerblading parks, golf, tennis, and those mountainside bars and restaurants are still in full swing. So when you’re looking for a great family-friendly spot, you’ll always be safe to book a vacation at a ski resort in summer. The temps are cooler up in the mountains, the scenery is gorgeous, there are activities for everyone and the deals are hot.